Hayley Erbert Was Still in Her Dance Costume When She Was Rushed to the Hospital for a Brain Bleed: ‘Pure Fear’

Hayley Erbert Hough was still in her dance costume when she was rushed to the hospital for a near-fatal brain bleed.

On the Oct. 17 episode of Dancing with the Stars, Hayley and her husband Derek Hough made their triumphant return to the ballroom since she was suddenly hospitalized in December 2023 for a cranial hematoma, which is characterized by blood collecting in the skull.

Before the duo took the stage to dance to Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” Hayley, 29, and Derek, 39, opened up about the day everything changed in a video package.

Due to the urgency of the situation, which unfolded while the two were in the midst of their dance tour, Derek revealed that his wife hadn’t had time to change out of her costume.

At the time of the scare, Derek explained that the two were newlyweds, DWTS had just wrapped season 32 and the couple were back on tour together “doing what we loved with the person that we love.”

“It just all came to a screeching halt in the most devastating way,” he recalled. “I was on stage, and she’s supposed to come out. The stage manager walked out and just said, ‘Hey, she’s not coming on stage.’ She was on the side of the stage having full seizures and, essentially, dying. It’s really hard to even put into words other than just pure fear.”

“We rush her to the hospital, she’s still in her costume, and the doctor came to me and he said that, ‘She has a severe brain bleed, so we have to operate right now,'” the DWTS judge continued. “He said that she might not make it and that even if she does make it, she won’t be the same person.”

Shortly after their performance, the couple told PEOPLE how emotional it was to relive the harrowing moment when they watched the video package before their dance.

“When they played the package, that’s when I started losing it, because I actually haven’t seen a lot of the footage in quite some time, because I’ve just been focusing on progressing every single day,” Hayley explained. “And so to go back to that, I was just flooded with emotions.”

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Despite this, she said it was “extremely special” to return to the ballroom and added that she’s felt the “most welcoming energy.

“It was beautiful to be here, to be able to share it with him,” she smiled, gesturing to Derek. “And I’m just grateful to be here.”

Hayley also expressed her gratitude in a post on Wednesday, Oct. 16, sharing photos from their emotional dance together.

“Thank you for all of the love around our performance last night. What a crazy, emotional year it has been, but being able to perform for you all with my beautiful husband last night, was beyond anything I even thought would be possible 10 months ago,” she captioned the shots. “The support you all have shown me through this journey has given me the strength to recover in such a remarkable way, and for that, I cannot show my appreciation enough.”

“Thank you @dancingwiththestars for helping us share part of our story last night. This show is so special to so many and I’m so grateful to be a part of it 🫶🏼” she added. ” Thank you my love, @derekhough, for the endless love and care you have given me throughout the entire journey. You have been my rock through thick and thin. I love you more than anything in this world ♥️.”

In Derek’s post, he echoed his wife, calling their dance “a powerful, full-circle moment for us.”

“To be back in the ballroom, performing together again. Feels like an absolute miracle. There were moments when it seemed impossible that we’d ever get back to this place,” he wrote. “We’re so thankful to the doctors and nurses who saved her life, our family and friends, and to all the people whose love and support poured in during this time. Your care has been such a huge part of her recovery.”

“Last night was just the beginning of sharing our story, and we can’t wait to take you along on the rest of this journey. We love you all so much, and we’re just overwhelmed with gratitude,” he added.